If the first half of Silksong was sold separately, I would call it the best Metroidvania since Metroid Dread. If the second half was sold separately, I would call it shock therapy. Put together, Silksong is essentially the exact sequel you’d expect, for better or worse - epic, brutal, fun, and infuriating. A massively impressive game to be sure but, held back by a few design choices, it falls a tad short of the potential you see so clearly in its early stages.
Débutant developer Sandfall Interactive mixes French culture with elements from Persona and Dark Souls, and the results are incroyable.
Age of Mythology: Retold is both a solid RTS and reimagining, but a bit of an odd one as well. It brings enough changes to the table to offer a new experience, but at the same time one that is in other ways bound in the past. Both this and its less than optimal visuals make it feel a bit stuck between old and new.
MultiVersus is by no means irredeemable; there’s potential here for a competent Smash-like fighter and real effort to be found in elements like the characters and stages, but this is its second shot at living up to that potential and it seems to have actually taken more steps backward than forward.
The creative fun of Super Mario Odyssey blends with the beauty of Ori to create one of this year’s indie gems.
Penny’s Big Breakaway achieves what it sets out to do in many areas, creating a stylish game with a fun, rich moveset that incentivizes and rewards masterful play, but is hampered by a few design flaws and a steep difficulty spike early on.